All posts by jhrogersii

Whew. We had WWDC three weeks ago, right into new iPads and the iOS 11 Developer Beta, and now the Public Beta yesterday with more news still coming fast. With lots of changes to to iOS 11 still to come and the new iPhone still on deck, there will still plenty more to last until the Fall, as well. Let’s get right into some of the notable news from the last week or two.

Have you been eagerly waiting these last three weeks to get your hands on iOS 11? Well wait no more. Get moving and downloading to get your hands on Apple’s latest and greatest- the iOS 11 Public Beta!

It becoming more and more difficult to find anyone with a smartphone who isn’t walking around with either a battery pack
or a Mophie or similar battery case for their device. Such are the power demands of the mobile lifestyle. These kinds of batteries work great for phone, and many are sufficient for tables, but what about larger game? What about powering your laptop through a flight that lasts several hours? Who makes a battery pack for that?

My first two posts on my experiences with Apple’s AirPods (here and here) were very positive. In fact, the more I’ve used them, the more I enjoy them. However, some issues started appearing a couple of weeks ago and they have grown progressively worse since. I think I am at the point of having to go to the Apple Store to start the process to get a replacement set.

A bug in beta software? I know, I know. Alert the media! However, this one is unique enough to be worth mentioning. Also, this particular beta bug isn’t tied to iOS 11. If you take a look at the image above, you’ll notice that I am running iOS 10 thanks to the older Multitasking App Selector. It is the iOS 10.3.3 beta, to be exact.

In today’s increasingly busy mobile world, keeping a backup battery on hand has become increasingly common. And if you are going to carry one, it had better have enough juice to not just handle your phone, but also tablets, e-readers, Smart watches, cameras, etc. You will also want one that has multiple charge ports and can output enough amperage to fast-charge your larger capacity devices.

I finally broke down and loaded the iOS 11 first beta on my new 12.9″ iPad Pro this weekend. Unfortunately, with this being the first version of the beta, doing so has pretty much rendered this device useless other than for testing the new OS. Several apps are crashing, and there are plenty of rough edges, just as you would expect for a beta release at this juncture. However, one thing I have noticed is that Multitasking is actually pretty polished, even in this initial release. Multitasking has triggered a few crashes, but it is stable for the most part, and the scrolling, gestures, and motions are all fluid and work well.

Considering that there are few keyboard cases out there right now for the new 10.5″ iPad Pro, this new crowdfunded keyboard case that I came across today looks all the more interesting. The Touchtype Pro doesn’t come with its own built-in keyboard, but rather works with Apple’s Bluetooth-enabled Magic Keyboard. However, while there have been other, more simple products that paired an Apple Bluetooth keyboard with a stand and/or case for an iPad, this one has some features that set it apart.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Noah Leon about his documentary project, Love Notes to Newton. He is funding the project through an Indiegogo campaign, which has now entered its final week. If you didn’t catch it the first time around, our interview covers all of the details of the project in detail, and it is well worth a listen.

Keyboard cases have long been a favorite accessory of mine. I used to review just about every one that hit the market for the iPad at a couple of my previous writing jobs, and still try most of the good ones out, whether I write about them or not. One thing I have noticed is that all of the keyboard cases for first two iPad Pro models that I have tried have some kind of major trade-off that holds them back.